Eddie`s Ready.

EdMoses

So after much "will I?, won`t I?" I`ve decided to jump right in and start a log as a way of motivating myself and in the hope of being inspired by those of you who`ve been at this running lark for a lot longer than I have. To start with I`m 41 next month :eek: and have been running on and off since July 2010. I`m 5 ft 11 inches and on 1st July last year I weighed 15 stone 12 pounds after over 20 years of gluttony and inactivity. This morning I hit the scales at 12 stone 10 pounds. I`m delighted with my own little Operation Transformation and this has motivated me no end with my running.

I used to do a bit of sprinting and hurdling as a kid, never setting the world alight but I always loved it as I wasn`t involved in any other sports. A bad ankle injury in 1986 put an end to my involvement in athletics and I literally did nothing until last year when I decided to get up off my oversized behind and do something about my fast-expanding waistline.

Setting myself a target of a 10k a few weeks later (in hindsight it was probably too much too soon) I did a lot of treadmill work initially and gradually progressed onwards to the great outdoors. I set myself a target for the 10k of 60 minutes but on the day I was consumed by the competitive streak of my youth and went out far too quickly eventually finishing in 54 mins having almost died over the last couple of km!

Quite delighted at having completed that race, I kept with it and probably overdid it If I`m honest, picking up a nasty groin strain in August which left me scuppered for nearly a month and a half. Thankfully with physio it was sorted and I got back into it again, albeit taking it a lot easier.

My next race was the Raheny 5 miles which I finished in 37:50 Again, I went out too quick and paid the price in the latter stages.

Next up was the much discussed Cupids Dash 10k (9.8k!!) :rolleyes: I had been really looking forward to this as it would have served as a good measurement of improvement on my previous 10k time of 54mins. I had hoped to get under 50 minutes. As it happened I did the 9.8k in 45:30 which I felt was pretty good for me but nonetheless I was disappointed that my 10k pb will have to wait for another day to be bettered.

Most recently I did the OT 5k last week (accurately measured, thank God!) and finished in 21:50. I was really pleased with this and really feel I have come such a long way from the slob I was a few months ago who couldn`t put one foot in front of the other without struggling to breathe!

And so to the future. What are my goals? I`m not really sure to be honest. I know I`m loving my running and I have developed an obsession with times and so it would be nice to improve on those times I have set and perhaps try some other distances. A marathon is, I suppose, the ultimate goal but perhaps that is a bridge too far at this early stage. So, for now, I suppose I just want to improve on distances up to 10k or maybe even a half marathon.

What I need to do now in a big way is to structure my training a bit better. Hence the reason for this log. Up to now it`s been a case of going out and running as quickly as I can, end of story. I see people here all the time talking about speedwork, tempo runs, intervals etc and I do feel like a complete novice with regard to all that kind of thing. So please forgive the stupid questions, misinterpretations and downright gombeenery which will inevitably follow in the next while as I endeavour to get myself started on a proper training plan. Please feel free to comment and offer advice or criticism at any stage. I`m more than aware of how little I know about the technicalities but I do have a real desire to improve so if anyone can assist along the way I`d be so appreciative!

Ok, to start with, I tried to do a bit of speedwork this morning. Basically I ran 4km quickly (for me) jogging for 800m in between each km. The splits were as follows: 4.14, 4.08, 4.12, 4.01. Was fairly hard going but felt good. Can anyone tell me if this kind of a session is beneficial and, if so, how often should I do this? I would usually do 5miles on Tues, 5 miles on Wed, 4 miles on Fri and have gotten up to 10 miles on Sunday LSR.

Again thanks to all in advance. Here`s to the future! Ed.

EdMoses

5 miles this morning in 37.36 which is an improvement on my Raheny 5 time so I`m pleased with that. Tried not to look at the Garmin at all until afterwards. Felt pretty good for first 6km or so but felt tired and sluggish over last 2km. This is a recurring theme...

km splits as follows: 4.42, 4.54, 4.34, 4.20, 4.38, 4.35, 4.47, 5.02

Hoping to do somewhere between 10 and 12 miles tomorrow morning.

EdMoses

LSR 20km, so just over the 12 mile target. This is the furthest I`ve ever run so I`m pretty chuffed with myself. Have that `runner`s high` I keep reading about Average pace was 5.16 per km. I felt well within myself this morning and tried to keep my average pace to just below 5.20 all the way. Do I need to do my lsr even slower or is that an ok pace at the moment? All advice welcome thanks.

Did the first 10k in 51.45 and followed with a second 10k of 53.50 which is faster than my official 10k PB last July even though it felt so slow to me now...delighted to see progress.

Going to rest tomorrow and hopefully get out for 5 miles on Tuesday.

asimonov

Good luck with the log; that's very progress in a short time.

I have found a daniel's vdot calculator a really good tool for training; it'll serve three purposes - you'll be able to compare performances in races of different distances, track your progress and set your training paces.

If you put your last couple of races into it, you'll see the OT performance was the best of these.

Raheny 5 mile @ 37:50 = 42.39
Cupids Dash (9,800m) @ 45:30 = 43.58
OT 5k @ 21:50 = 44.94

The calculator will then give you your training pace (assume your current vdot is 45)

easy pace - 5:46 / km
marathon pace - 4:56 / km
threshold - 4:38 / km
interval - 4:16 / km

So try and keep your training in those zones. If you look at your training so far against these; your easy pace is probably only a tad too quick - these have to be slow because you need to go into your key sessions in good shape. The 5 mile session you did is too hard for you right now (you can tell because you couldn't maintain the pace). But running at that 4:38 pace will be good for you, so start by running 15' at 4:38 take 2' recovery and then do another 15' at the pace and you'll have spent more time on pace - you can then build from there - extending the lengths of the time spent on pace. The 1km repeats you did were perfect, just keep that pace and start to reduce the recovery time so it is more like half of the time spent running hard.

hope that helps..

EdMoses

asimonov wrote: »

Good luck with the log; that's very progress in a short time.

I have found a daniel's vdot calculator a really good tool for training; it'll serve three purposes - you'll be able to compare performances in races of different distances, track your progress and set your training paces.

If you put your last couple of races into it, you'll see the OT performance was the best of these.

Raheny 5 mile @ 37:50 = 42.39
Cupids Dash (9,800m) @ 45:30 = 43.58
OT 5k @ 21:50 = 44.94

The calculator will then give you your training pace (assume your current vdot is 45)

easy pace - 5:46 / km
marathon pace - 4:56 / km
threshold - 4:38 / km
interval - 4:16 / km

So try and keep your training in those zones. If you look at your training so far against these; your easy pace is probably only a tad too quick - these have to be slow because you need to go into your key sessions in good shape. The 5 mile session you did is too hard for you right now (you can tell because you couldn't maintain the pace). But running at that 4:38 pace will be good for you, so start by running 15' at 4:38 take 2' recovery and then do another 15' at the pace and you'll have spent more time on pace - you can then build from there - extending the lengths of the time spent on pace. The 1km repeats you did were perfect, just keep that pace and start to reduce the recovery time so it is more like half of the time spent running hard.

hope that helps..

Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond asimonov. Very helpful indeed. Exactly the kind of info I need right now. Hope to get cracking on this in the week ahead. I had an inkling that I needed to slow my easy runs down alright. The threshold thing is new to me so I`m going to read up on that a bit. Really appreciate that. Thanks again. Ed.

EdMoses

Ok, been thinking that I probably need to have some definite goals to chase so here`s what I`m aiming to do before the year is out:

5k - sub 21 mins

5 miles - sub 36.30

10k - sub 45 mins



Hoping that these are all realistic.

Tomorrow hoping to do 5 miles. Warm up followed by 15 mins @ 4.38/km, 2 mins jog, 15 mins @ 4.38/km, warm down jog. Some interval work on Wednesday, rest Thursday, 5 miles Friday, rest Saturday, LSR 12 miles Sunday.

EdMoses

Well today was the start of a more structured training regime and wasn`t a great start to be honest.

Started with a 1km warm up jog followed by 15mins @ 4.35/km. Jog for 2 mins and went for another 15 @ 4.35/km. I couldn`t maintain it though and actually ended up having to stop and walk about 2km later. First time ever I`ve had to pull up so felt really disheartened. Walked about 200 metres before completing the rest of my 8km loop @ 5/km. Feeling a bit deflated but hoping it`s down to the after effects my LSR on Sunday which may have been too far and a little too fast for me.

asimonov

EdMoses wrote: »

Well today was the start of a more structured training regime and wasn`t a great start to be honest.

Started with a 1km warm up jog followed by 15mins @ 4.35/km. Jog for 2 mins and went for another 15 @ 4.35/km. I couldn`t maintain it though and actually ended up having to stop and walk about 2km later. First time ever I`ve had to pull up so felt really disheartened. Walked about 200 metres before completing the rest of my 8km loop @ 5/km. Feeling a bit deflated but hoping it`s down to the after effects my LSR on Sunday which may have been too far and a little too fast for me.

not too worry man; one session won't make or break you - but you're right it doesn't feel good to walk away from a session. on the positive, you've got a baseline to work from. That pace is close to your current 10k pace - so you have the ability run 45' straight at that pace. It may just take a little getting use to holding the focus in training. Next time maybe do it as 3 x 10' with 2' recovery and nail it. *warning* - i'm far from a coach...and can only help from my own experience.

EdMoses

asimonov wrote: »

not too worry man; one session won't make or break you - but you're right it doesn't feel good to walk away from a session. on the positive, you've got a baseline to work from. That pace is close to your current 10k pace - so you have the ability run 45' straight at that pace. It may just take a little getting use to holding the focus in training. Next time maybe do it as 3 x 10' with 2' recovery and nail it. *warning* - i'm far from a coach...and can only help from my own experience.

Cheers for that asimonov. Much appreciated. Yeah, think the 3 x 10 is the way to go to begin with. I`m very conscious that I really haven`t much of an idea what I`m doing so thanks for the advice.

Much better session this morning though. Did 5 x 1km with 300m recovery jog in between. Splits were 4.04, 3.58, 4.04, 4.06, 4.03
Felt strong although did need slightly longer recovery between km 4 and 5.
Onwards and upwards. Ed.

EdMoses

Something came up in work for this morning so got out yesterday instead. Felt a whole lot better than Tues!

Did 3 x 10 mins with 2mins recovery jog in between. 4.33/km, 4.34/km, 4.33/km. Last one felt tough over last 3mins but was determined not to give in this time!

Next race is the MSB 5k on 20th March. Going to aim for 21.30 but not sure if that`s realistic. Sure we`ll see how things pan out over the coming weeks.

Because of family and work issues I`ve been doing all of my running in the morning. Up at 6 out by 6.30 on an empty stomach. Beginning to wonder if this is wise and should I be waiting until later in the day until after I`ve eaten. Anyone got any ideas on this? Just that I`ve been finding the latter stages of my runs a little tough and wondering if it may be to do with not having eaten? All suggestions/words of wisdom welcome thanks. Ed.

RayCun

I've done a fair amount of morning runs, either before or after breakfast. They tend to be easy runs though - I don't know if I'd have the energy for more before breakfast, or how I'd handle a hard run with food fresh in my stomach.

EdMoses

RayCun wrote: »

I've done a fair amount of morning runs, either before or after breakfast. They tend to be easy runs though - I don't know if I'd have the energy for more before breakfast, or how I'd handle a hard run with food fresh in my stomach.

Thanks RayCun. I`m coming round to the idea that my harder runs should be later in the day a couple of hours after eating. Trying to find the time though may not be so easy.

EdMoses

LSR this morning 17km @ average of 5.31/km. Up to now my LSR's have been too quick for me so made a real effort to slow down this morning. Found this really hard to do. Everytime I looked at my watch over the first couple of km I seemed to be going too fast. Was aiming for 5.38/km. Eventually managed to establish and hold my pace but not without constantly checking my watch which was quite distracting. Hopefully as I get a bit more experienced I'll be better able to judge and maintain a more regular pace. Rest day tomorrow. Night on the tiles tonight so wouldn't really be able for much tomorrow. :-) Two weeks left to the MSB 5k so going to try to concentrate on some speedwork next week.

EdMoses

In spite of the lingering after effects of Saturday night I really enjoyed this morning's run! 3 x 10mins @ 4.34/km, 4.35/km, 4.33/km with 2 mins jog in between. Felt strong throughout. Going to start increasing these to 2 x 15mins towards the end of the week.

EdMoses

Did 4 x 1km this morning with jog for 1min 30sec in between. Splits were 4.09, 4.02, 4.02, 4.07, 4.04. Felt pretty good. Actually enjoying these sessions.

With an eye on the MSB 5k race on the 20th I`m thinking of doing a 5k fairly flat out on Friday morning just to see how I get on. When I did the OT 5k last month my average was 4.22/km so if I want to get a PB on Sunday week I`m hoping to stay below 4.20/km. That should get me around in under 21.40 all going well. Cosidering that b*st*rd of a hill in the OT race and the fact that the MSB course is supposed to be pretty flat I`ll hopefully manage this.

EdMoses

Mixed emotions on this morning`s run. Decided to go out and give 5k a lash to see how things are going in lead up to MSB race next weekend. Felt really good and was going well. Coming up to 4k mark felt a bit of a twinge in my right thigh. Panicked a little and pulled up at 4k. A little paranoid about getting injured so just didn`t want to risk it. Disappointed at having to pull up. Has felt ok since so I`m just going to rest it and hopefully will be alright.

Good news was that I did 4k in 16.50. Splits were 4.08, 4.10, 4.15, 4.15. Went out fairly quick and obviously couldn`t sustain that but was finding 4.15/km comfortable. Given that my 5k last month was 21.50 I`m thinking that, all going well, I should be capable of getting under 21.20 next week.

To anyone looking in, am I better to go out strong and hang in there at the end or should I slow down and have a more even pace throughout? I know that seems like a fairly stupid question. All advice welcome. Thanks. Ed.

RayCun

Even pacing until you kick at the end. The trick is knowing what that even pace should be, knowing what is the absolute fastest pace you can sustain for 5k...

EdMoses

RayCun wrote: »

Even pacing until you kick at the end. The trick is knowing what that even pace should be, knowing what is the absolute fastest pace you can sustain for 5k...

Yeah Ray. That sounds like a plan. Thinking that I should be able to sustain 4.12/km over the first 4k and then kick for home from there. Going to try that for next week's race. You doing MSB 5k?

RayCun

Yep, I'll be there (I posted my photo in the race thread). Going for a sub-20, though I don't think I'll get it this time...

EdMoses

Good stuff Ray. I'll keep an eye out for you. Although if you're aiming for sub 20 I'll most likely only catch a glimpse of your heels :-) Best of luck with it. Ed.

EdMoses

Sh*te! That twinge in my thigh yesterday morning would appear to be a groin strain! Was a little stiff this morning but has been uncomfortable all day. Not really painful but don`t want to risk running on it. Anyone any idea how long I should stay off it? If I was to rest it until tomorrow week`s 5k race would it be mad to run? Had a pretty bad one before Christmas on the other leg which kept me out of action for a couple of weeks. Ragin!

EdMoses

No real improvement. Not that painful but more uncomfortable and tight. Been doing a bit of light stretching but no difference really. Not going to risk running until Wednesday at the very earliest. Will go for a bit of a jog Wed or Thurs and make decision about Sunday`s 5k then. Real frustrating as I felt I was making great progress and was aiming for a pb but sure we`ll see how the next few days go. Fingers crossed.

EdMoses

No running since last Friday now. Plan is to get out for a jog tomorrow and see how the leg is holding up. Not too hopeful if I`m honest. Still doesn`t feel right. Even if it`s ok and I do manage to run on Sunday, my lack of running over the past week will probably go against me. On the other hand maybe the enforced rest will have me rejuvenated and raring to go! Hope springs eternal...

EdMoses

Just in from slow 5k in 28:30. Leg held up ok. Stretched well before and after. No pain while running although a bit of stiffness/discomfort. Won't run again til Sunday and hopefully will be ok to run MSB race.

EdMoses

PB 21.20 improvement of 30 seconds since last month

What a great day and a brilliantly organised race. Of the five races I`ve done to date this was the most enjoyable, not least because of the largely unexpected PB. Every detail was perfect from the atmosphere at the start with the musicians/clowns/magicians/motorbikes to the calling out of the split times at each km. Thankfully I woke up with very little discomfort in the leg and decided to go for it. Would have been raging to miss this one.
The only disappointing aspect was my own stupidity in terms of race pacing. I should have learned my lesson by now, but of course I went out ridiculously fast and nearly paid the price. I had decided beforehand that I would try to stay at 4.12/km for the first 4k and then empty the tank over the last km if I had anything left. Instead I hit the first km at 4.07 followed by a second km of 4.02. This is just too fast for me and I SHOULD know that. My third km was 4.29! I was suffering at this stage and did contemplate dropping out, justifying it in my own head with excuses of not having had a proper week`s training up to the race. Pride kept me going though and I tried to get a better rhythm going for the fourth km which took me 4.20. At the 1km to go marker I just dug in and strangely was able to pick up the pace significantly covering the last km in 4.05. Garmin showed 5.07 at the finish so I was obviously way off the race line. Was totally shattered at the end and my lungs were bursting but so delighted to have taken a chunk off my PB.
Really have to cop on to myself and be more clever in terms of pacing. Don`t know if it`s that I just get a rush of blood to the head or that I get swept along with the crowds but either way I`m determined to sort myself out for my next 5k attempt, most likely the Leixlip race. There...If I say it here then I have to follow through!!

EdMoses

Spurred on by Sunday`s race I was looking forward to this morning`s run.

Did 1km warm up, 15mins @ 4.29/km, 2mins recovery jog, 15mins @ 4.34/km, 1km warm down.

Feeling vey positive after Sunday. My sub 21 min 5k goal by the end of the year should be manageable if I continue to progress and if I can get my head around the whole pacing thing. Would like to have a crack at a 10k soon enough too and try to beat my official 10k pb which stands at 54mins.

EdMoses

What a beautiful morning for a run. Blue sky, no wind. Perfect. Took it fairly easy doing 8k in 37.31 at average 4.41/km. Felt really good throughout. Beginning to see and feel the improvement in real terms as this morning felt easy enough and yet was quicker than my time for Raheny 5 mile where I was flat out and dead at the end. Plan is to do some intervals tomorrow morning. Anyone know of any 10k races coming up in the Dublin area soon? Can't do the Great Ireland Run unfortunately.

RayCun

Not a 10k, but a 5 mile
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056199161
Always a good race

EdMoses

RayCun wrote: »

Not a 10k, but a 5 mile
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056199161
Always a good race

Cheers for that. Just signed up!

EdMoses

1km warm up followed by 5 x 1km this morning with 1.30 jog in between. Decided not to look at Garmin until towards the end of each km as I find it too distracting for these sessions. Seemed to work as I was much quicker than usual and didn`t spend my time concentrating on my watch.

Splits were: 4.00, 3.52, 3.55, 3,54, 3.56.

Big improvement on previous sessions and felt pretty good although the last km was very tough over last 250m or so. Previous best for a 1km interval was 3.58 once so very pleased with this. Oh to be able to put those times back to back for a sub 20 5k!! One can dream

brownian

EdMoses wrote: »

1km warm up followed by 5 x 1km this morning with 1.30 jog in between. Decided not to look at Garmin until towards the end of each km as I find it too distracting for these sessions. Seemed to work as I was much quicker than usual and didn`t spend my time concentrating on my watch.

Splits were: 4.00, 3.52, 3.55, 3,54, 3.56.

Big improvement on previous sessions and felt pretty good although the last km was very tough over last 250m or so. Previous best for a 1km interval was 3.58 once so very pleased with this. Oh to be able to put those times back to back for a sub 20 5k!! One can dream

You'll get there. Work up to 2K, then 3K...from there it's a hop skip and jump to five. An approach I like is to run a fast km, then a slow one, then a fast, then a slow (intervals, really)...after a couple, you start to feel that you don't need a full slow km to recover, so you cut it down to 500m...eventually, you find you can do two fast ones...from there, it's history.